Speed Reading: Using A Pointer

Here's another tip that you can put to use right away in order to improve your speed reading. In previous articles we talked about the concept of practice, some localization, and linear reading. If you have put those pointers to use, then you should already see some improvement in your reading speed already. We are going to add on one more component to this, and this next tip should help you with your skill, and add value to your speed. In this article were going to talk about another idea that helps and that is to use a pointer.

Your eyes don't stay fixed in one spot when reading. Eye tracking movements have shown that your eyes actually quiver and move around considerably. And every movement away from your position in text requires a few milliseconds to readjust. Can you imagine how much faster you would be able to read if you could keep you eyes from wavering off and then having to bring them back all over again? It's like taking care of two young children that keep getting distracted.

These little readjustments in locating your place in a book add up to be very costly if you want to go faster. So, if you can train your eyes to follow a specific object, all those mili seconds that you waste with your eyes moving around randomly can get put to use.

Try placing your finger at the beginning of the paragraph of a pager going to read. Use your index finger to mark where you are on the page at all times. As you read, have your finger follow the words. Let your fingers leave the way. This gives your eyes something to follow, and as your eyes follow you keep track and not lose the place that you should be.

Incorporate using a pointer as part of your practice reading. By moving your finger faster than you can actually read, your eyes get used to viewing text faster than your brain can process what is written down. Agan, you should push yourself when you practice so that you have a hard time keeping up. In fact, if you push yourself when you practice to only being able to comprehend say, 75% of what you saw on the page, when you slow down to get 100% comprehension, you will realize that your overall pace will have improved.

This will break your subvocalization attachment and can easily let you double your reading rate with sufficient practice. So using a pointer and some vocalizations together will over time greatly improve your speed reading.